ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

June 4, 2026 (8:30-12:00)

Cape Town, South Africa (in person only)

Deadline: December 15, 2025

Keynote speaker:  

Ann Skelton, Professor, University of Pretoria and University of Leiden, and former Chair, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 

About the pre-conference 

The Digital Futures for Children centre is pleased to announce the call for applications for the ICA 2026 pre-conference “Children’s rights under pressure in a digital world” organised in association with the ICA divisions Children, Adolescence and Media and Communication Law and Policy. 

Children and young people are often the early adopters, the ‘canaries in the coalmine’ of digital innovation around the world. We are long past the early optimism that digital technologies would spur development and close global inequalities. Instead, today’s concerns focus on how dominant digital business models are fuelling societal transformations that increasingly undermine children’s rights. As digital connectivity expands across the global South, countries in the region are beginning to grapple with the same adverse effects of digital inclusion on children’s wellbeing that have already prompted concern in the global North. Growing evidence also shows that different groups of children experience these impacts unevenly, with new research highlighting the distinct challenges faced by indigenous children as connectivity reaches their communities. 

Education and awareness-raising for a digital world are crucial, but they are insufficient on their own. Many now call for stronger regulation to rein in the power of big tech to commodify and reshape all aspects of everyday life in the interests of profit.

 This is proving contentious, with key rights – safety, speech, privacy, participation – appearing to conflict and with stakeholders debating the respective responsibilities of government, industry, civil society, families, and educators in safeguarding children’s rights within a fast-moving and complex digital landscape.  

Call for submissions 

This pre-conference brings together scholars and practitioners to explore how research can inform policy, regulation and design, and how global South perspectives can inform and shape international debates. The discussions will combine different perspectives, expertise and approaches under the umbrella of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s General comment No. 25 on Children’s Rights in Relation to the Digital Environment.  

Possible topics include: 

• Artificial intelligence, governance, privacy and safety 
  
• Child rights-respecting AI design 
  
• Intersectional perspectives on children’s digital lives 
  
• Children’s participation in digital environments 
  
• Children’s digital labour and the platform economy 
  
• Commercial exploitation and children’s data 
  
• Children’s activism online 
  
• Children’s participation in digital governance 
  
• Algorithmic childhoods 
  
• EdTech and the right to education 
  
• Child rights by design 
  
• Age restrictions and age-appropriate design 
  
• Measures for protecting children in digital environments  
  
• Digital childhoods, parenting and rights 
  

Submission guidelines 

We welcome original research studies addressing the theme of children’s rights in the digital environment, from all disciplines, employing empirical methods, relevant theory, and contributing to children’s rights in the digital environment. We invite extended abstracts of up to 1500 words (excluding references and tables). Each abstract must include the following subheadings: research questions, theoretical framework, empirical method, key findings and a description of how the work relates to children’s rights.

Six keywords should be identified. Submissions should include two files – one anonymous with author information removed throughout, and the second with all author information (name/s, institution/s, contact details).  

Submission deadline:  

Extended abstract (up to 1500 words) deadline: 15 December 2025 (12:00 CET), sent to info@dfc-centre.net 

Notification of acceptance: 15 January 2026 

Publication: Following the pre-conference, DFC will publish the extended abstracts on its website, accessible via LSE Research Online repository, with authors’ permission. 

Registration fee: $35, fees will be waived for students and participants from UN third-tier countries. Note: you do not have to be an ICA member or register for the main conference to attend this pre-conference.  

This pre-conference is co-organised by: 

• Sonia Livingstone and Kim Sylwander, DFC, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) (UK) 
  
• Patrick Burton (South Africa) 
  
• Magdalena Claro Tagle, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (Chile) 
  
• Matías Dodel, Universidad Católica del Uruguay (Uruguay) 
  
• Jennifer Kaberi, Mtoto News (Kenya)  
  
• Admark Moyo, Faculty of Law, Stellenbosch (South Africa) 
  
• Julian Sefton-Green, Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, Deakin University (Australia) 
  
• Fabio Senne, Cetic.br (Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society) (Brazil) 
  

Queries are welcome, addressed to s.livingstone@lse.ac.uk  

More about the pre-conference: bit.ly/preICA  

May 27-28, 2025

Online

Deadline: January 20, 2026

Scholars and practitioners at all career levels are invited to join the inaugural virtual summer intensive on Theorizing Communication in, of, and from the Balkans, May 27-28, 2026.

Responding to the academic dominance of Western theorizing of communication, this summer intensive aims to “come back to basics” and activate Balkan place-based knowledges to wonder together: What counts as communication in the first place and in this place? Who and what communicates? What forms of communication feel un/familiar and un/necessary? How is communication shaped by and how does it shape creative, educational, civic and political activities and processes, difference and belonging, community building and resilience, and (responses to) local and global crises and conflicts? 

This summer intensive will welcome participants to inhabit together the in-betweens of the Balkans as a rich borderlands locale for communication theorizing, so that we can chart new place-based questions and paths for exploring them. We hope to foster a multinational, interdisciplinary, and intercultural scholarly community around shared interests in questions of communication in the region. We think of communication very broadly and welcome scholars and practitioners of any academic background who are actively engaged in analyzing, creating, and/or theorizing from and with Balkan (Southeastern European) perspectives and experiences.  

In this two-day intensive, participants will first learn about culture-centered approaches (CCAs) and borderlands theorizing as models to elevate context-specific ways of knowing and being and how they are expressed and negotiated with/in communication. Workshops during the first day will focus on methodologies for culture-centered theorizing, such as ethnography, narrative and arts-based research, and critical realist analysis of media. During the second day, we will gather in participatory working groups to further explore how such approaches can be adapted or redefined in and from Balkan contexts. Participants will be able to connect with fellow academics regarding ongoing or future research projects and submit work emerging from the intensive to upcoming publications, including an edited volume. 

Who Should Attend?

This summer school is open to scholars and practitioners, including graduate students, curious about and working on advancing communication theorizing with place-based Balkan perspectives and in relation to the varied socio-historic legacies and specifics of the region. Participants at any career level and from any academic field are welcome since communication is necessarily interdisciplinary: we think of it as paying attention to how symbols and signs function socially to make and negotiate meanings, identities, relationships, cultures, and historic and contemporary “wicked problems.” Thus, we particularly invite those interested in communication-related questions and theories relevant to the following themes and their intersections:

• (Post-)Conflict experiences and representations 
  
• Creativities, imaginations, activism, and (resilient) communities
  
• Identities and belonging (ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, race, etc.; dis/unifications)
  
• Literacies and learning (e.g., mis/dis-information, critical media literacy, cultural forms and culturally-sustaining pedagogies)
  
• Crises, risks, and violence (cultural, structural, direct)
  
• Borderlands, liminalities, transitions, and knowledge decolonization 
  

Registration

To be considered for the summer school, please submit your application no later than January 20, 2026 using the form linked here (opens in a new window). Please include the following two documents in English:

• A brief statement of interest (maximum 500 words) detailing your academic background and why you are interested in this topic. What questions of communication in, of and from the Balkans interest you? What do you hope to gain from participation in the Summer Intensive? How do you envision your engagement with and contributions to the TCB Summer Intensive?
  
• A current curriculum vitae (CV) or resume (maximum 5 pages).
  

The above information will be used to form preliminary working groups and focus the sessions of the summer intensive. Because of the number of facilitators, we are able to register no more than 40 participants total for this inaugural gathering. Should interest exceed this number, the organizers may have to exercise discretion in selecting participants. 

Practical Information and Dates to Remember

• Interest form due (linked here, opens in a new window): Jan. 20, 2026
  
• Confirmation of participation sent: End of March, 2026
  
• Dates of the TCB Summer Intensive: May 27 and May 28, 2026
  
• Location: Virtual, over Zoom
  
• Language: English
  
• Registration fee: NONE

Confirmed Facilitators:

• Dr. Lily Herakova, Communication and Journalism, University of Maine, Orono, USA
  
• Deniza Mulaj, Mass Communication, Ohio University, Ohio, USA & Development Manager, Teach of Kosova, Pristina, Kosova
  
• Dr. Senem Konedareva, Cultural Studies, American University in Bulgaria, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria
  
• Dr. Jennifer A. Zenovich, Communication, California State University, East Bay
  
• Dr. Marta N. Lukacovic, Communication and Mass Media, Angelo State University, USA
  
• Dr. Ian MacMillen, Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies and Music, Yale University, USA
  

Contact

Dr. Lily Herakova, liliana.herakova@maine.edu 

May 11, 2026

Lisbon, Portugal

Deadline (for extended abstracts): January 12, 2026

As digital tools, especially machine learning and artificial intelligence, have come to play a greater role in journalism practices, journalists and researchers have begun to reconsider the value of the human in journalism, whether the human touch in reporting, human connection, or a greater acknowledgement of the humanity of journalists and audiences. In this vein, researchers in journalism studies at the Research Centre for Communication and Culture (CECC) at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon, invite submissions of extended abstracts for the symposium, “Journalism Studies: Connecting to the Human” to be held on May 11, 2026, with a keynote address by Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, professor at the Cardiff University School of Journalism. 

This symposium aims to bring together researchers, students, and journalists who are thinking about how journalists can connect or re-connect with the people and communities they are meant to serve, what aspects of journalistic work require a human element, and how journalists as human beings are affected by the work they do. The symposium is open to researchers who wish to present on topics relating to these and other issues related to the human/humanity in journalism.

Please submit an anonymized abstract of no more than 750 words (not including references) to journsymposium@gmail.com by January 12, 2026. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by mid-February 2026. Submissions may also be considered for inclusion in a poster session. Please note that the symposium will be held in person, and we cannot accommodate remote participation. Submissions from early-career researchers and Ph.D. and M.A. students are especially welcome. In the spirit of the theme of the symposium, we would like to emphasize that all abstracts should be original and human-authored.

Abstracts may address a number of topics within journalism studies, including, but not limited to:

- Humanitarian journalism

- Solutions journalism

- Journalism and human story-telling

- Human-machine connections

- Journalism and communities

- Mental health and well-being of journalists

- The role of empathy in journalism

- Journalism and humanity

- Local journalism

- Civic and participatory media

- Journalism and artificial intelligence and its rejection/backlash

- Misinformation, disinformation, junk news, and its effects

- Contemporary news audiences

- Genres and styles of journalistic writing

- Human judgement in journalism

- AI (slop) and human perceptions

The Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) 

The Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) funds innovative research on the societal impact of digital transformation. We support individual researchers (fellows) and collaborative projects (working groups).

Fellowships: Time and Space for Focus and Inspiration

A fellowship at CAIS provides the freedom to dedicate yourself to your research and the opportunity to become part of a vibrant interdisciplinary community. Step away from daily work routines to gain new perspectives and build lasting connections.

As a fellow, you can spend either six or three months in Bochum, Germany. During this time, we will cover your sabbatical leave from work through financial compensation (e.g. for a teaching substitute) or provide grants of up to 2.000 € per month. In addition, we will provide a fully furnished apartment free of charge. You can invite guests for collaboration and receive financial support for research expenses. Private offices and meeting rooms with modern facilities offer optimal working conditions.

Find out more: https://www.cais-research.de/en/cais-college/fellowships/

Working Groups: Boost Your Research Collaboration

A working group at CAIS enables you to assemble your own team of experts from different locations to collaborate in a stimulating environment.

We provide modern meeting facilities and catering for groups of up to ten members. In addition, we will cover travel and accommodation expenses. You can spend up to three weeks in Bochum or get together for several shorter meetings.  

Find out more: https://www.cais-research.de/en/cais-college/working-groups/

Application

The next deadline for applications is 19 December 2025. You can currently apply for a fellowship taking place between April and September 2027, or for working group meetings in 2027. Please use the application forms provided on our website.

The funding program is open to excellent scholars and practitioners at all career stages and from all disciplines. Both fundamental research and applied projects are welcome.

Questions? Please contact esther.laufer@cais-research.de.

Journal of Interactive Narrative (Special Issue)

Deadline: January 19, 2026

This special issue is an initiative and sponsored by the Digital Storytelling and Innovation Network (DSIN), a research cluster hosted by the Leeds School of Arts.

Scope of the Special Issue

Building on previous work in the disciplines of art, design, communications and media —i.e. on open cultural production (Velkova, 2016b), the interactive digital narrative field (Murray, 2018; Rouse & Koenitz, 2018), interactive documentary production (Dubois, 2021), and autonomous art schools (Hudson-Miles and Goodman, 2024)— this special issue seeks contributions that raise questions of autonomy in and through interactive digital storytelling.

Recent scholarship has highlighted the need for negotiation of “human-machine co-creativity” (Fisher, 2023; McCormack et al., 2020) and distributed cognition (Taffel, 2019; Hayles, 1999).

We are particularly (but not exclusively) interested in surfacing complexity and ambiguities around maker agency and authorship within cooperative or independent interactive digital narrative (IDN) production arrangements. Communication and social interactions among makers in various human/nonhuman assemblages (Romic, 2022; Zylinska, 2020) and engagement with generative AI software in particular are of key interest.

The use and détournement (de Certeau & Rendall, 2004) of technological tools can lead to more or less creative autonomy (Banks, 2010) or craft autonomy (Velkova, 2016) in media making. This is particularly true in autonomous media (Langlois & Dubois, 2005) settings, where the final work and the process are intrinsically aligned with the very empowerment of makers of media.

Interactive digital storytelling practices —e.g. interactive film, narrative-based computer games (Buckles, 1985), digital and participatory theatre (influenced by Laurel, 2013), narrative virtual reality, or augmented reality stories— have seen practitioners share their autonomy together with increasingly interdisciplinary teams on the one hand, and end users on the other (as the limits of what is internal or external to production teams has become malleable at best). Put differently, Koenitz (2023) points to IDNs being ‘incomplete’, as long as the user is not interacting with it:  “The designer of an IDN work no longer produces a finished object in the sense of a printed book or the theatrical release of a movie. Instead, they create artifacts that can be considered purposefully incomplete, as they require the active engagement by an audience to be fully realized.“ (p. 101)

In parallel, technological infrastructures such as big data, cloud computing, blockchain, and large language models have percolated production cultures to a point where the lines between what is maker-driven and what is algorithm-driven have started to blur. This in turn provokes questions of various forms of shared agency between human and nonhuman actors (Spierling & Szilas, 2009; Zylinska, 2020).

It is in this context of organisational and technological innovation in interactive digital storytelling production that we are asking how autonomy can be defined, as part of the shifting maker culture and where it is found/negotiated.

We are also interested, following the scepticism of writers such as Goldsmith and Wu (2007), about philosophical conceptualisations of the term ‘autonomy’ (see, for example: Coeckelbergh, 2004), including its manifestations in various niche contexts of interactive digital storytelling, such as Hakim Bey’s ‘temporary autonomous zones’ (1985). 

We welcome research-creation scholars, reflective practitioners, critical and analytical scholars to participate in the special issue. Please submit one of three options by 19 January 2026 at:  https://journal.ardin.online/index.php/jin/about/submissions 

You can choose between:

1) a scholarly essay or paper of 6,000-8,000 words (excluding abstract, reference list, and meta information), 

2) a 20-minute audiovisual-essay, or

3) a 12-minute IDN in combination with a short paper (between 2,400 and 3,200 words).

For any inquiry related to the special issue, don’t hesitate to contact us via autonomy@filmschule.de

Guest editors

Frédéric Dubois, Department of Digital Narratives, ifs Internationale Filmschule Köln

Bojana Romic, School of Arts and Communication (K3), Malmö University

Important dates

20 October 2026: Publication of the call for papers

19 January 2026: Deadline for submission of draft manuscripts

2 February 2026: Desk-selection sent to authors

13 April 2026: Combined peer review and editorial review back to authors

15 June 2026: Deadline for submission of full advanced manuscripts

20 July 2026: Second and final review

21 September 2026: Deadline for submission of final manuscripts

1 November 2026: Papers are published as they are readied. They are bundled into a special issue post-publication.

References: 

Banks, M. (2010). Autonomy Guaranteed? Cultural Work and the “Art–Commerce Relation.” Journal for Cultural Research, 14(3), pp. 251–269. https://doi.org/10.1080/14797581003791487

Bey, H. (1985). 'The Temporary Autonomous Zone, Ontological Anarchy, Poetic Terrorism', Available <https://hermetic.com/bey/taz_cont>.

Buckles, M. A. (1985). Interactive Fiction: The Computer Storygame “Adventure”. Ph.D. Thesis, University of California, San Diego. https://www.proquest.com/openview/c7864197158c0dc9cf96c199b4c9963e/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y

Coeckelbergh, M. (2004) The Metaphysics of Autonomy: The Reconciliation of the Ancient and Modern Idea of a Person. Palgrave Macmillan.

De Certeau, M., & Rendall, S. F. (2004). From the practice of everyday life (1984). The city cultures reader, 3(2004), p. 266.

Dubois, F. (2021). Interactive Documentary Production and Societal Impact: The Case of Field Trip. Doctoral thesis. Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF.

Fisher, J.A. (2023). “Centering the Human: Digital Humanism and the Practice of Using Generative AI in the Authoring of Interactive Digital Narratives.” In: Holloway-Attaway, L. & Murray, J.T. (eds.) Interactive Storytelling. 16th International Conference of Interactive Digital Storytelling, ICIDS 2023, Kobe, Japan, Proceedings, Part I. pp.73-88.

Goldsmith, J., and Wu, T. (2007). Who Controls the Internet? Illusions of a Borderless World, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hargood, C., Millard, D., Mitchell, A., & Spierling, U. (Eds.). (2022). The Authoring Problem. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05214-9

Hayles, K. (1999) How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics, Chicago, University of Chicago Press

Hudson-Miles, R., and Goodman, J. eds. (2024). Cooperative Education, Politics, and Art, London and New York: Routledge.

Koenitz, H. (2023). Understanding Interactive Digital Narrative. Immersive Expressions for a Complex Time. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003106425)

Langlois, A., Dubois, F. eds. (2005). Autonomous Media: Activating Resistance and Dissent. Montreal: Cumulus Press.

Laurel, B. (2013). Computers as theatre. Addison-Wesley.

McCormack, J.,  Hutchings, P., Gifford, T., Yee-King, M., Llano, M.T., D’Iverno, M. (2020). Design Considerations for Real-Time Collaboration with Creative Artificial Intelligence. Organised Sound 25(1), pp. 41–52

Murray, Janet. (2018). Research into Interactive Digital Narrative: A Kaleidoscopic View: 11th International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling, ICIDS 2018, Dublin, Ireland, December 5–8, 2018, Proceedings. 10.1007/978-3-030-04028-4_1.

Romic, B. (2022) ‘It’s in the Name: Technical Nonhumans and Artistic Production’. Transformations, issue #36. pp. 1-16. ISSN 1444-3775

Rouse, R., & Koenitz, H. (2018). “Preface: Authoring Our Own Disciplinary Identity as the Interactive Digital Narrative Field Matures.” In: Rouse, R., Koenitz, H., Haahr, M. (eds.). Interactive Storytelling: Lecture Notes In Computer Science. Proceedings of ICIDS 11th Interactional Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling, Dublin Ireland, December 5-8, 2018, Springer Verlag.

Taffel, S. (2019). Automating Creativity - Artificial Intelligence and Distributed Cognition. Spheres: Journal for Digital Cultures. Spectres of AI #5. pp. 1-9. ISSN 2363-8621.

Spierling, U., & Szilas, N. (2009). Authoring issues beyond tools. In Interactive storytelling: Second joint international conference on interactive digital storytelling, ICIDS 2009, guimarães, portugal, december 9-11, 2009, proceedings (pp. 50–61). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-10643-9_9

Velkova, J. (2016). Free Software Beyond Radical Politics: Negotiations of Creative and Craft Autonomy in Digital Visual Media Production. Media and Communication, 4(4), pp. 43-52. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v4i4.693

Velkova, J. (2016b). Open cultural production and the online gift economy: The case of Blender. First Monday, 21(10). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v21i10.6944

Zylinska, J. (2020) AI Art: Machine Visions and Warped Dreams. Open Humanities Press.

April 7-10, 2026

University of Innsbruck, Austria

Deadline: December 10, 2025

Dear colleagues,

I am pleased to invite paper proposals for my workshop at the ECPR Joint Sessions of Workshops 2026: The Interplay of Physical and Digital Authoritarianism: Methodological and Theoretical Challenges and Approaches

Endorsed by the ECPR Research Network on Digital Authoritarianism, the workshop explores how offline (physical) and online (digital) forms of authoritarianism intersect and mutually reinforce each other across regime types. While there is a rich literature on traditional repression and a rapidly growing body of work on digital authoritarianism, we still know relatively little about how these domains are connected in practice and how to study such hybrid campaigns systematically.

We welcome theoretical, methodological, and empirical papers that address (among others) the following themes:

• Conceptualising the nexus of physical and digital authoritarianism, including links between long-standing offline practices and their digitally mediated adaptations
  
• Methodological challenges of researching repression and control across online/offline spaces (e.g. access, risk, ethics, data limitations) and innovative solutions using digital, traditional, or mixed methods
  
• Empirical studies of hybrid repressive campaigns (e.g. surveillance, censorship, disinformation, intimidation, carceral practices) spanning streets, institutions, and platforms
  
• Cross-platform and cross-country analyses of digital authoritarianism and its entanglement with offline coercion in both authoritarian and democratic settings
  
• The role of platform algorithms, AI, and data infrastructures in shaping authoritarian practices and their connections to physical repression
  

The Joint Sessions format is designed for intensive, small-group discussion: each workshop typically hosts 15–20 papers, giving participants the opportunity to receive detailed feedback and develop collaborative projects over several days.

Submission details

Where to submit: via the ECPR website (MyECPR account required) – click on “Propose a Paper” on the workshop page: The Interplay of Physical and Digital Authoritarianism: Methodological and Theoretical Challenges and Approaches

What to submit: paper title, abstract (up to 500 words), and 3–8 keywords

Call for Papers window: 5 November – 10 December 2025 (midnight UK time)

We particularly encourage submissions from early-career scholars and those working in or on constrained research environments. Interdisciplinary contributions (political communication, IR, sociology, area studies, media studies, etc.) are very welcome.

Please feel free to circulate this call within your departments, institutes, and networks, and to share it with PhD students and early-career colleagues who may be interested.

I look forward to receiving your proposals and to an engaging workshop in Innsbruck.

With best wishes,

Hossein Kermani

University of Vienna

Chair, ECPR Research Network on Digital Authoritarianism

November 25, 2025

Online

The ECREA Media, Cities and Space (MCS) section invites you to attend our Engaging Publics 2025 Online conference on Tuesday, 25 November 2025. Please see information below. Registration is open (click on link below):

Engaging Publics in Media, Cities and Space – and Boosting the Impact of Your Research

An online one-day Conference by the ECREA Media, Cities and Space (MCS) section 

Tuesday, 25 November 2025 | 10:00–17:00 GMT | Online

Register here (free event and open to everyone)

The ECREA Media, Cities and Space (MCS) section is hosting a free, one-day online conference exploring how to engage publics and amplify the impact of research in the inter- and multi-disciplinary field of media and urban studies.

Expect insightful talks on both traditional and alternative academic media formats - from monographs and journals to podcasts and walking tours - plus dedicated networking sessions.

Speakers include:

- Prof. Scott McQuire (University of Melbourne) – Media cities and urban communication: an evolving paradigm

- Dr. Marcos Dias (Dublin City University) – Repurposing a PhD into a monograph

- Dr. Lou Therese Brandner & Dr. Helena Atteneder (University of Tübingen) – Publishing journal articles: tips and best practice

- Dr. Burcu Baykurt (University of Massachusetts Amherst) – Editing as Method: Special Issues as Scholarly Practice

- Dr. Paul O’Neill (University of Galway) – Dublin Infrastructure Tour: Disseminating research through critical media art practice

- Linda Kopitz (University of Amsterdam) – Engaging publics in ‘small gauge’ online academic journals

- Dr. Scott Rodgers (Birkbeck, University of London) – Podcasting practice and the mediated city

• Free and open to all, including early career researchers.
  
• Opportunities to share work, network, and collaborate.
  

Also the event will conclude with:

• YECREA Post-Conference Networking Event (16:30–17:00 GMT)

Open to all Early Career Researchers (both YECREA and non-YECREA members). A chance to connect, share experiences, and discuss how the MCS section can support your research journey.

Deadline: November 30, 2025

The organisers of the 11th European Communication Conference (ECC2026) invite submissions of proposals for pre-conference events.

Pre-conferences are events that function independently from the main conference, each having its own program, budget, organisation, and logistics. The pre-conference organisers have full autonomy to define the thematic focus and design the format, duration, schedule, presentation style, and usage of innovative elements. They are also responsible for the peer-review process, which is separate from the review process of the main conference.

The pre-conference should occur before the main ECREA 2026 conference, ideally in Brno or nearby locations between 5 and 7 September 2026.

The ECC2026 Local Organising Committee may be able to help with contacts to possible locations in Brno. Still, the pre-conference organisers are responsible for securing the venue and catering for the pre-conference. For any inquiries regarding pre-conference organisation, please contact:  info@ecrea2026brno.eu

Proposal Submission

The proposal for pre-conference (500-800 words) should include:

• title and thematic rationale of the pre-conference,
  
• date and location (if already available),
  
• general format (full-day or half-day event),
  
• brief presentation of the pre-conference organisers,
  
• institutional links to ECREA (e.g., if the pre-conference is organised or endorsed by one of ECREA’s Temporary Working Groups, Networks, or Sections),
  
• expected number of participants and budget (please note that participation fees for ECREA members should be lower than fees for non-members).
  

Please send the proposal in English as a PDF or Word document to info@ecrea2026brno.eu by 30 November. The local organising committee will evaluate the proposals and select pre-conferences. The proposals will be evaluated by 19 December 2025.

Upon selection, pre-conferences will be promoted via the ECC2026 website and communication channels and the ECREA website and communication channels.

Aarhus University

Apply HERE

The Department of Media and Journalism Studies within the School of Communication and Culture at Aarhus University invites applications for a postdoctoral position in monetisation, governance, and the creator economy. The postdoctoral position is part of the research project ‘New Media Monetisation’ funded by the Aarhus University Research Foundation (AUFF).

The postdoc is a full-time, 2.5-year fixed-term position. It begins on 1 March 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The School of Communication and Culture is committed to diversity and encourages all qualified applicants to apply regardless of their personal background.        

Project

The New Media Monetisation project investigates the governance of new funding models for creators and influencers, including subscriptions, donations, and the purchase of products and services. The project approaches governance holistically, encompassing the social norms around fan-creator interactions, the rules codified in platform policies, the expectations built into the design of platform tools, and state regulatory initiatives. Subscription platforms like Patreon or OnlyFans, fundraising platforms like Kickstarter, or donation tools built into video platforms like YouTube or TikTok reconfigure the relationship between creators, audiences, and platforms. Creators are less dependent on traditional intermediaries but must engage in significant audience management. Audiences have unprecedented influence on cultural production but struggle to define appropriate boundaries around parasocial relationships. Platforms draw significant revenue from transactions but face growing pressure from regulators, venture capital, and competitors. Together, these factors monetisation an ideal site to investigate and shape the future of work, cultural production, and the platform society.

The New Media Monetisation position is situated within the CREATOR:GOV Lab, providing opportunities for collaboration, and the working language is English. The postdoc will develop their own project within the framework of New Media Monetisation and collaborate with the PI on related studies. While the postdoctoral project needs to address issues related to creators, monetisation, and governance, the context, methods, and disciplinary orientation are relatively open. Regarding context, projects can address any industrial sector or geographic region of the creator economy. Regarding methods, projects must involve empirical research but can employ qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods. Regarding disciplinary orientation, the postdoctoral researcher should be comfortable working in an interdisciplinary environment but can target the research they lead toward relevant disciplinary audiences, conferences, and publication venues. The flexibility in focus is meant to attract innovative and impactful research proposals.

Postdoctoral position

The postdoc position involves 80% research, 20% teaching and departmental service, following the principles formulated in relation to the Independent Research Foundation of Denmark. The working hours (excluding holidays) are 1643 hours, which means that 20% of working hours corresponds to 328 hours annually. This typically means that the postdoctoral fellow will teach one major course annually, as well as perform other work tasks related to teaching, including supervision and exams.

Regarding research, the successful applicant will be expected to:

• design research, in coordination with PI, that investigates the governance of new funding models for creators and influencers,
  
• collect and analyse empirical data (flexible, but please specify),
  
• present research at national and/or international events,
  
• lead the publication of at least two articles for international journals or conference proceedings,
  
• participate in the CREATOR:GOV Lab’s collaborative research environment through, for example, attending lab meetings, discussing relevant literature, and co-authoring papers.
  

Teaching and supervision

As postdoctoral researcher, your position is primarily research-based, but it will also involve a small degree of teaching and supervision. To that end, the successful applicant will be expected to take part in the department’s teaching and supervision activities related to BA courses like “Analysis of Digital Media” and “Media Systems Analysis” or MA courses like “Digital Media and Societal Transformations” and “Research Design and Method: Case Studies.” The successful applicant will be able to teach in English or Danish.

Qualifications

Required qualifications:

• PhD degree or equivalent qualifications in a field relevant to the study of digital platforms, such as media studies, communication, information science, or sociology
  
• expertise in the domains of platform governance, the creator economy, or platform labour, as documented by the dissertation and/or published research
  
• publications in international journals or conference proceedings, including at least one lead or sole-authored article
  
• ability to speak and write in English at an academic level, as documented by publications, conference presentations, and/or teaching experience in English.

Desired qualifications:

• theoretical sophistication, reflected in the argumentation and conceptualisation of prior work and/or the proposed research
  
• innovative approach to platform governance (including social norms, content moderation, or legislation), reflected in the writing samples and/or proposed research
  
• experience with collaborative, interdisciplinary, and/or international research
  
• strong communication and interpersonal skills to engage with the research team and external stakeholders.
  

Application

Interested candidates should submit the following material:

• a cover letter explaining your qualifications for the position (1-2 pages)
  
• a short proposal for the research you would lead under the ‘New Media Monetisation’ framework, indicating the type of questions, data, and analytic methods involved (1 page)
  
• a CV
  
• official documentation of a PhD degree or its equivalent
  
• a full list of publications
  
• two writing samples, at least one of which should be published
  
• a teaching portfolio demonstrating your qualifications and approach to teaching
  

Please note that although the application process can be completed on the Aarhus University system without uploading publications, applications that do not include up to two uploaded writing samples will not be considered.

Additionally, please do not include letters of recommendation or references with the application. Applicants who are invited to an interview may be asked to provide references.

Work environment

We respect the balance between work and private life and strive to create a work environment in which that balance can be maintained. You can read more about family and work-life balance in Denmark.

Aarhus University also offers a Junior Researcher Development Programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU.

International applicants

International applicants are encouraged to read about the attractive working conditions and other benefits of working at Aarhus University and in Denmark, including healthcare, paid holidays and, if relevant, maternity/paternity leave, childcare and schooling. Aarhus University offers a wide variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including a relocation service and an AU Expat Partner Programme. You can also find information about the taxation aspects of international researchers’ employment by AU.

The department

The place of employment is Department of Media and Journalism Studies, Helsingforsgade 14, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark.

Prospective applicants are invited to view the department’s website.

School of Communication and Culture

The school is a part of the Faculty of Arts. You will find information about the school and its research programmes, departments, and diverse activities on its website.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact the principal investigator (PI), Blake Hallinan by e-mail: bhallinan@cc.au.dk

If you need help uploading your application or have questions about the recruitment process, please contact Arts HR support by email: hsi@au.dk.

Qualification requirements

Applicants should hold a PhD or equivalent academic qualifications.

Formalities

The Faculty of Arts refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities (the Appointment Order).

• Appointments shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations.
  
• Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities.
  
• Further information on the application and supplementary materials may be found in Application Guidelines.
  
• The application must outline the applicant's motivation for applying for the position, attaching a curriculum vitae, a teaching portfolio, a complete list of published works, copies of degree certificates and examples of academic production (mandatory, but no more than two examples). Please upload this material electronically along with your application.
  

Aarhus University also offers a junior researcher development programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU. You can read more about it here: https://talent.au.dk/junior-researcher-development-programme/

If nothing else is noted, applications must be submitted in English. The application deadline is at 11.59 pm Danish time (same as Central European Time) on the deadline day.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.

Shortlists may be prepared with the candidates that have been selected for a detailed academic assessment. A committee set up by the head of school is responsible for selecting the most qualified candidates. See this link for further information about shortlisting at the Faculty of Arts: shortlisting

Faculty of Arts

The Faculty of Arts is one of five main academic areas at Aarhus University.

The faculty contributes to Aarhus University's research, talent development, knowledge exchange and degree programmes.

With its 700 academic staff members, 200 PhD students, 9,000 BA and MA students, and 1,500 students following continuing/further education programmes, the faculty constitutes a strong and diverse research and teaching environment.

The Faculty of Arts consists of the School of Communication and Culture, the School of Culture and Society and the Danish School of Education. Each of these units has strong academic environments and forms the basis for interdisciplinary research and education.

The faculty's academic environments and degree programmes engage in international collaboration and share the common goal of contributing to the development of knowledge, welfare and culture in interaction with society.

Read more at arts.au.dk/en

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.

Dear colleagues,

As part of a project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), we are conducting a survey to better understand research practices in Computational Communication Science. We invite you to participate in a short survey focusing on researchers’ attitudes, experiences, and intentions regarding the reassessment of prior research and the reliability of scholarly work in the field.

If you have conducted or are currently conducting research in the area of Computational Communication Science, we kindly invite you to participate. Your insights will contribute to a broader understanding of current practices, challenges, and opportunities in the field. We expect the survey to take approximately 10-15 minutes.

Link to the survey: https://www.soscisurvey.de/AutoFrontCCS/

Participation is anonymous and voluntary. The study has been reviewed and approved by the IRB at LMU Munich. If you’ve already received this invitation via another channel, please disregard this message to avoid duplicate responses. 

Please feel free to distribute the survey invitation to any colleagues who might be interested!

If you have any questions about the study, please feel free to contact us at philipp.knoepfle@ifkw.lmu.de or Xinyue.Zhao@cais-research.de.

Thank you for your time and contribution!

Best regards,

Philipp Knöpfle, M.Sc. (LMU Munich)

Xinyue Zhao, M.A. (Center for Advanced Internet Studies)

Prof. Dr. Mario Haim (LMU Munich)

Prof. Dr. Johannes Breuer (Center for Advanced Internet Studies & University of Duisburg-Essen)